Our image of Roman satire has developed from that of a static, moralizing genre to a deliberately complex form, but our approach to the humour intrinsic to satire has not developed accordingly. This ...
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Our image of Roman satire has developed from that of a static, moralizing genre to a deliberately complex form, but our approach to the humour intrinsic to satire has not developed accordingly. This book offers a comprehensive new analysis of humour in the writings of Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, with an excursus to Lucilius. The main thesis is that far from being an external means of sweetening the moral lesson, humour lies at the heart of Roman satire and shapes its paradoxical essence. The book argues that while the satirist needs humour for the aesthetic merit of his work, his ideological message inevitably suffers from the ambivalence that humour carries. By analyzing object-oriented humour, humour directed at the speaker (including self-irony), and humour directed at neither object nor subject, the book shows how the Roman satirists work round this double mission of morals and merriment. As a result, they present the reader with a much more sprawling and ‘open’ literary product than they promise in their programmatic self-presentations. The argument is rounded off by a contemplation of the end of Roman satire, and its descendants — not only modern satire but also the novel, in which satire’s humorous orchestration of epic questions was later taken up and richly elaborated.Less

The Function of Humour in Roman Verse Satire : Laughing and Lying

Maria Plaza

Published in print: 2006-01-26

Our image of Roman satire has developed from that of a static, moralizing genre to a deliberately complex form, but our approach to the humour intrinsic to satire has not developed accordingly. This book offers a comprehensive new analysis of humour in the writings of Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, with an excursus to Lucilius. The main thesis is that far from being an external means of sweetening the moral lesson, humour lies at the heart of Roman satire and shapes its paradoxical essence. The book argues that while the satirist needs humour for the aesthetic merit of his work, his ideological message inevitably suffers from the ambivalence that humour carries. By analyzing object-oriented humour, humour directed at the speaker (including self-irony), and humour directed at neither object nor subject, the book shows how the Roman satirists work round this double mission of morals and merriment. As a result, they present the reader with a much more sprawling and ‘open’ literary product than they promise in their programmatic self-presentations. The argument is rounded off by a contemplation of the end of Roman satire, and its descendants — not only modern satire but also the novel, in which satire’s humorous orchestration of epic questions was later taken up and richly elaborated.

While there is now consensus that liberalizing reforms have been behind the acceleration of growth in India to the current 8 to 9 percent level, critics continue to argue that opening the economy to ...
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While there is now consensus that liberalizing reforms have been behind the acceleration of growth in India to the current 8 to 9 percent level, critics continue to argue that opening the economy to trade has hurt the poor, that rapid growth is leaving the socially disadvantaged groups behind, and that the reforms have led to increased inequality. They also argue that people themselves do not feel that their fortunes are improving. Five original essays in this volume, topped by a substantial introductory essay summarizing their findings, meet these challenges to the reforms head-on. They use large-scale sample surveys and other data to systematically address each of these arguments. They show that trade openness has indeed helped reduce poverty not just in general but also among the socially disadvantaged groups. The contributors to the volume find no evidence whatsoever to support the claim of a negative impact of trade openness on poverty in any social group. The essays also show that inequality exhibits no definite trend since the liberalizing reforms and that it is unrelated to trade openness. People’s responses have also now turned decidedly in favor of reforms. Thus, when asked how they feel about the change in their fortunes in the recent past, an overwhelmingly large proportion of individuals from every conceivable group report improvements. Moreover, systematic analysis of the 2009 parliamentary elections show that people now reward the chief ministers in states in which they deliver superior growth outcomes and punish those that do not.Less

India’s Reforms: How They Produced Inclusive Growth

Published in print: 2012-05-01

While there is now consensus that liberalizing reforms have been behind the acceleration of growth in India to the current 8 to 9 percent level, critics continue to argue that opening the economy to trade has hurt the poor, that rapid growth is leaving the socially disadvantaged groups behind, and that the reforms have led to increased inequality. They also argue that people themselves do not feel that their fortunes are improving. Five original essays in this volume, topped by a substantial introductory essay summarizing their findings, meet these challenges to the reforms head-on. They use large-scale sample surveys and other data to systematically address each of these arguments. They show that trade openness has indeed helped reduce poverty not just in general but also among the socially disadvantaged groups. The contributors to the volume find no evidence whatsoever to support the claim of a negative impact of trade openness on poverty in any social group. The essays also show that inequality exhibits no definite trend since the liberalizing reforms and that it is unrelated to trade openness. People’s responses have also now turned decidedly in favor of reforms. Thus, when asked how they feel about the change in their fortunes in the recent past, an overwhelmingly large proportion of individuals from every conceivable group report improvements. Moreover, systematic analysis of the 2009 parliamentary elections show that people now reward the chief ministers in states in which they deliver superior growth outcomes and punish those that do not.

This is the second of three chapters on the sources of pressure on contemporary national welfare states, all of which seek to show how examining the sources of strain carries implications for ...
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This is the second of three chapters on the sources of pressure on contemporary national welfare states, all of which seek to show how examining the sources of strain carries implications for identifying who is likely to fight with whom over what; the authors of the three chapters are not of one mind on this issue. Iversen's analysis seeks to show that de‐industrialization—caused by the dramatic increases in productivity in the manufacturing sector rather than by globalization—is the crucial motor of social change. He directly challenges a variant of the globalization thesis that has been popular among scholars: the idea that exposure to the heightened labour market risks of an open economy fuelled the expansion of the welfare state as a form of compensation. Instead, he marshals considerable evidence for the view that it is the shrinkage of the manufacturing sector, and not economic (trade) openness, that fuelled the growth of compensatory social policy. He finds little evidence in favour of the view that the various dimensions of globalization constitute a source of real threat to the contemporary welfare state.Less

The Dynamics of Welfare State Expansion : Trade Openness, De‐industrialization, and Partisan Politics

Torben Iversen

Published in print: 2001-04-05

This is the second of three chapters on the sources of pressure on contemporary national welfare states, all of which seek to show how examining the sources of strain carries implications for identifying who is likely to fight with whom over what; the authors of the three chapters are not of one mind on this issue. Iversen's analysis seeks to show that de‐industrialization—caused by the dramatic increases in productivity in the manufacturing sector rather than by globalization—is the crucial motor of social change. He directly challenges a variant of the globalization thesis that has been popular among scholars: the idea that exposure to the heightened labour market risks of an open economy fuelled the expansion of the welfare state as a form of compensation. Instead, he marshals considerable evidence for the view that it is the shrinkage of the manufacturing sector, and not economic (trade) openness, that fuelled the growth of compensatory social policy. He finds little evidence in favour of the view that the various dimensions of globalization constitute a source of real threat to the contemporary welfare state.

While the accomplishments of (and the existing problems with) 20th century ingenuity are clear, their implications for the future are highly contested as techno-optimists clash with critics of ...
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While the accomplishments of (and the existing problems with) 20th century ingenuity are clear, their implications for the future are highly contested as techno-optimists clash with critics of technical advances. In this context, it is useful to remember that even the most destructive technical advances were not responsible for most of the man-made deaths during the 20th century. There is nothing inevitable about the long-term survival of civilization based on technical ingenuity and high energy consumption: openness and uncertainty best describe our prospects.Less

A New Era or an Ephemeral Phenomenon? : Outlook for Technical Civilization

Vaclav Smil

Published in print: 2006-04-27

While the accomplishments of (and the existing problems with) 20th century ingenuity are clear, their implications for the future are highly contested as techno-optimists clash with critics of technical advances. In this context, it is useful to remember that even the most destructive technical advances were not responsible for most of the man-made deaths during the 20th century. There is nothing inevitable about the long-term survival of civilization based on technical ingenuity and high energy consumption: openness and uncertainty best describe our prospects.

Moves away from explaining the comparative statics of risk regulation regimes and explores what happens when regimes are under pressure to change, and, in particular, when they are under presure for ...
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Moves away from explaining the comparative statics of risk regulation regimes and explores what happens when regimes are under pressure to change, and, in particular, when they are under presure for greater openness and transparency. The chapter develops a style‐phase model of staged organizational responses to external pressure for change and compares its predictive value against two competing hypotheses. Examination of the nine case‐study risk regulation regimes reveals that, contrary to the common belief that such pressures are all pervasive, less than half were exposed to substantial pressures of this type. Responses of organizations in the ‘high‐pressure’ regimes were varied, but the overall pattern was consistent with a mixture of an autopoietic and staged‐response hypothesis stressing blame prevention. The chapter presents a hybrid ‘Catherine‐wheel’ model of the observed pattern and concludes by discussing the implications for policy outcomes.Less

Regime Development Under Pressure: Staged Retreats and Lateral Mutations

Christopher HoodHenry RothsteinRobert Baldwin

Published in print: 2001-08-23

Moves away from explaining the comparative statics of risk regulation regimes and explores what happens when regimes are under pressure to change, and, in particular, when they are under presure for greater openness and transparency. The chapter develops a style‐phase model of staged organizational responses to external pressure for change and compares its predictive value against two competing hypotheses. Examination of the nine case‐study risk regulation regimes reveals that, contrary to the common belief that such pressures are all pervasive, less than half were exposed to substantial pressures of this type. Responses of organizations in the ‘high‐pressure’ regimes were varied, but the overall pattern was consistent with a mixture of an autopoietic and staged‐response hypothesis stressing blame prevention. The chapter presents a hybrid ‘Catherine‐wheel’ model of the observed pattern and concludes by discussing the implications for policy outcomes.

The essays in Part III of the book, on liberal constraints and traditionalist education, argue for a more regulatory conception of liberal education and emphasize the need for some controls over ...
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The essays in Part III of the book, on liberal constraints and traditionalist education, argue for a more regulatory conception of liberal education and emphasize the need for some controls over cultural and religious educational authority. In the last chapter, on liberalism and group rights, according to Stephen Macedo, while the commitment of liberalism to individual freedom and equality is far more easily reconciled with group-based remedies for group-based inequalities than the critics of liberalism allow, the liberal commitment to freedom of association imposes limits on group recognition by insisting on intragroup openness and diversity. The chapter has two main parts. Section 15.1, Liberalism, Education, and Group Identities, rebuts the charge that a liberal public philosophy embraces a narrow individualism that is incompatible with tackling group-based forms of inequality, and surveys some of the myriad liberal reforms of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s that promoted more equal respect for differing group identities, especially in schools. Section 15.2, Special Exemptions and the Rights of Traditional Communities, focuses on the difficulties raised by “traditionalistic” groups that seek special accommodations in part because they reject liberal values of equal freedom for all, and makes the point that a liberal regime should not seek to be equally hospitable or accommodating to groups that accept and those that reject educational policies designed to promote the equal freedom of all persons; various examples are presented and discussed.Less

LIBERALISM AND GROUP IDENTITIES

Stephen Macedo

Published in print: 2003-08-28

The essays in Part III of the book, on liberal constraints and traditionalist education, argue for a more regulatory conception of liberal education and emphasize the need for some controls over cultural and religious educational authority. In the last chapter, on liberalism and group rights, according to Stephen Macedo, while the commitment of liberalism to individual freedom and equality is far more easily reconciled with group-based remedies for group-based inequalities than the critics of liberalism allow, the liberal commitment to freedom of association imposes limits on group recognition by insisting on intragroup openness and diversity. The chapter has two main parts. Section 15.1, Liberalism, Education, and Group Identities, rebuts the charge that a liberal public philosophy embraces a narrow individualism that is incompatible with tackling group-based forms of inequality, and surveys some of the myriad liberal reforms of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s that promoted more equal respect for differing group identities, especially in schools. Section 15.2, Special Exemptions and the Rights of Traditional Communities, focuses on the difficulties raised by “traditionalistic” groups that seek special accommodations in part because they reject liberal values of equal freedom for all, and makes the point that a liberal regime should not seek to be equally hospitable or accommodating to groups that accept and those that reject educational policies designed to promote the equal freedom of all persons; various examples are presented and discussed.

American women have lived in Hong Kong, and in neighboring Macao, for nearly two centuries. Many were changed by their encounter with Chinese life and British colonialism. Their openness to new ...
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American women have lived in Hong Kong, and in neighboring Macao, for nearly two centuries. Many were changed by their encounter with Chinese life and British colonialism. Their openness to new experiences set them apart both individually and as a group. Equally, a certain “pedagogical impulse” gave them a reputation for outspokenness that sometimes troubled those around them. Drawing on memoirs, diaries, newspapers, film, and other texts, this book tells the stories of several American women and explores how, through dramatically changing times, they communicated their notions of national identity and gender. The book is a study of cross-cultural encounters, shedding light on the connections between the histories of Hong Kong and the US, on the impact of Americanization in Hong Kong, and on the ways in which Hong Kong people used stereotypes of American womanhood in popular culture.Less

Troubling American Women : Narratives of Gender and Nation in Hong Kong

Stacilee Ford

Published in print: 2011-03-01

American women have lived in Hong Kong, and in neighboring Macao, for nearly two centuries. Many were changed by their encounter with Chinese life and British colonialism. Their openness to new experiences set them apart both individually and as a group. Equally, a certain “pedagogical impulse” gave them a reputation for outspokenness that sometimes troubled those around them. Drawing on memoirs, diaries, newspapers, film, and other texts, this book tells the stories of several American women and explores how, through dramatically changing times, they communicated their notions of national identity and gender. The book is a study of cross-cultural encounters, shedding light on the connections between the histories of Hong Kong and the US, on the impact of Americanization in Hong Kong, and on the ways in which Hong Kong people used stereotypes of American womanhood in popular culture.

This chapter summarizes what is common and what is not in the experiences of the individual countries studied. It develops an interpretive framework for understanding the growth of the software ...
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This chapter summarizes what is common and what is not in the experiences of the individual countries studied. It develops an interpretive framework for understanding the growth of the software industry in these countries, and attempts to distill the lessons that others can learn. What stands out in this story is the role of human capital and human capital flows, and the role of those flows in opening these countries to the outside world. The least appreciated aspect of the growth of the software in the 3Is has been the role of entrepreneurship and the development of firm level capabilities.Less

Bridging the Gap: Conclusions

Ashish AroraAlfonso Gambardella

Published in print: 2005-03-03

This chapter summarizes what is common and what is not in the experiences of the individual countries studied. It develops an interpretive framework for understanding the growth of the software industry in these countries, and attempts to distill the lessons that others can learn. What stands out in this story is the role of human capital and human capital flows, and the role of those flows in opening these countries to the outside world. The least appreciated aspect of the growth of the software in the 3Is has been the role of entrepreneurship and the development of firm level capabilities.

The era between empire and communism is routinely portrayed as a catastrophic interlude in China's modern history, but this book shows instead that the first half of ...
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The era between empire and communism is routinely portrayed as a catastrophic interlude in China's modern history, but this book shows instead that the first half of the twentieth century witnessed a qualitatively unprecedented trend towards openness. The book argues that the years from 1900 to 1949 were characterised at all levels of society by engagement with the world, and that the pursuit of openness was particularly evident in four areas: in governance and the advance of the rule of law and of newly acquired liberties; in freedom of movement in and out of the country; in open minds thriving on ideas from the humanities and sciences; and in open markets and sustained growth in the economy. Freedom of association, freedom to travel, freedom of religion, freedom to trade, and relative freedom of speech wrought profound changes in the texture of everyday life. While globalisation itself was a vector of cultural diversification, pre-existing constellations of ideas, practices and institutions did not simply vanish on contact with the rest of the world, but on the contrary expanded even further, just as much as local industries diversified thanks to their inclusion into a much larger global market. Arguably the country was at its most diverse in its entire history on the eve of World War II — in terms of politics, society, culture, and the economy.Less

The Age of Openness : China before Mao

Frank Dikotter

Published in print: 2008-07-01

The era between empire and communism is routinely portrayed as a catastrophic interlude in China's modern history, but this book shows instead that the first half of the twentieth century witnessed a qualitatively unprecedented trend towards openness. The book argues that the years from 1900 to 1949 were characterised at all levels of society by engagement with the world, and that the pursuit of openness was particularly evident in four areas: in governance and the advance of the rule of law and of newly acquired liberties; in freedom of movement in and out of the country; in open minds thriving on ideas from the humanities and sciences; and in open markets and sustained growth in the economy. Freedom of association, freedom to travel, freedom of religion, freedom to trade, and relative freedom of speech wrought profound changes in the texture of everyday life. While globalisation itself was a vector of cultural diversification, pre-existing constellations of ideas, practices and institutions did not simply vanish on contact with the rest of the world, but on the contrary expanded even further, just as much as local industries diversified thanks to their inclusion into a much larger global market. Arguably the country was at its most diverse in its entire history on the eve of World War II — in terms of politics, society, culture, and the economy.

This chapter examines the possibility of building a new bargain of embedded liberalism that can effectively maintain or even generate public support for policies of economic openness in majoritarian ...
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This chapter examines the possibility of building a new bargain of embedded liberalism that can effectively maintain or even generate public support for policies of economic openness in majoritarian democracies with competitive labor markets. This new bargain must be crafted with the economic constraints of 21st century globalization in mind, and it must be built on a set of policies that are robust and compatible with the incentives of office-seeking politicians, particularly those from the Left, since these politicians tend to be more sensitive than their counterparts on the Right to anti-trade political pressure.Less

Saving Embedded Liberalism in the Anglo-American Democracies

Jude C. Hays

Published in print: 2009-10-01

This chapter examines the possibility of building a new bargain of embedded liberalism that can effectively maintain or even generate public support for policies of economic openness in majoritarian democracies with competitive labor markets. This new bargain must be crafted with the economic constraints of 21st century globalization in mind, and it must be built on a set of policies that are robust and compatible with the incentives of office-seeking politicians, particularly those from the Left, since these politicians tend to be more sensitive than their counterparts on the Right to anti-trade political pressure.